John NationsNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94John NationsSat, 08 Oct 2016 08:36:07 +0000John Nationshttp://news.stlpublicradio.org
Joseph LeahyThe historic Eads Bridge is now fit to carry MetroLink and motor traffic over the Mississippi River until at least the year 2091 with the completion of a four-year, $48 million rehabilitation project. Rehab of Eads Bridge helps extend its life beyond 2 centurieshttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/rehab-eads-bridge-helps-extend-its-life-beyond-2-centuries
54348 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgFri, 07 Oct 2016 02:59:52 +0000Rehab of Eads Bridge helps extend its life beyond 2 centuriesJoseph Leahy The U.S. Department of Transportation's Under Secretary for Policy Peter Rogoff praised St. Louis' "vision" on Friday after the city received a $10.3 million federal grant for a new MetroLink station. The planned light-rail station at Boyle Avenue and Sarah Street is a key part of the master plan for the Cortex innovation hub in St. Louis' Central West End. Rogoff said it will make it easier for workers to get to and from the developing high-tech area of midtown. "St. Louis came out on top in this brutal competition because the leaders in this community have a vision and that vision aligns so well with President Obama’s vision of using public investments to grow the jobs of tomorrow across the country,” Rogoff said at the future site of the station. Metro's grant was one of only 72 awarded out of nearly 800 others submitted across the country to the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (Tiger) grant program, which helps fund transportation projects across theCORTEX Secures Key Funding for MetroLink Stationhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/cortex-secures-key-funding-metrolink-station
39612 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgFri, 12 Sep 2014 23:37:52 +0000CORTEX Secures Key Funding for MetroLink StationCamille Phillips The union that represents local bus and train drivers and mechanics picketed outside Metro headquarters in downtown St. Louis Thursday. About 60 members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) circled Metro’s office building for more than hour in the midday heat, carrying signs and chanting. Chants alternated between “Nations’ pockets are lined with gold” and “We are one ATU.” Many of the workers were upset that Metro CEO John Nations’ annual salary will increase by $75,000 beginning in 2015. Union members say they haven’t received a raise in six years. According to Nations, Metro’s board approved his raise as part of renewing his contract and represents a three percent increase from his current salary. He said that Metro’s proposed contract for ATU union members would also raise their income three to four percent. The president of the union’s St. Louis chapter, Michael Breihan, says contract negotiations between Metro and the union have reached a stalemate over retirement plans. Local 788Transit Union Pickets Outside Metro Headquarters, Demands Existing Pension In New Contracthttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/transit-union-pickets-outside-metro-headquarters-demands-existing-pension-new-contract
39275 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgFri, 29 Aug 2014 01:21:51 +0000Transit Union Pickets Outside Metro Headquarters, Demands Existing Pension In New ContractJason Rosenbaum Metro is building the North County Transit Center to make the public transit experience more comfortable for big chunk of its ridership. But Metro COO Ray Friem jokingly said his agency has an ulterior motive for the project. “I’ll be honest with you. The real reason to do this is to say that a bus system took over a car dealership,” Friem said on Tuesday. “Who would have thought that was ever going to happen?” Indeed, Metro is transforming a former Mazda dealership in Ferguson into a centralized hub for its bus service. The agency officially broke ground Tuesday on the project, which is located on Pershall Road between West Florissant Avenue and New Halls Ferry Road. The transit center is slated to have 10 bus bays, concession stands and restrooms. It will also have a free parking lot and an indoor waiting area to protect passengers from bad weather. North St. Louis County makes up about 20 percent of Metro's bus and light rail ridership. Friem said the transit center will provide aMetro Hopes Transit Center Will Improve North County Residents' Riding Experience http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/metro-hopes-transit-center-will-improve-north-county-residents-riding-experience
38265 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgTue, 22 Jul 2014 20:47:03 +0000Metro Hopes Transit Center Will Improve North County Residents' Riding Experience Jason RosenbaumJordan Wilson saw the No. 70 Grand Line’s capacity issues firsthand. The north St. Louis County resident is a regular rider on Metro’s buses. When he rode the Grand Boulevard line, it was filled to the brim. “I can see that it’s already packed, and the need is already there,” Wilson said. Wilson’s experience isn’t uncommon. With more than 9,000 passengers riding every day, the Grand Line is often so crowded that people can’t get on when a bus arrives. That’s why Metro purchased 60-foot articulated buses, which should increase capacity by around 25 percent. Seven of the buses will start serving the Grand Line on Monday. “Not only will it be more comfortable for them to ride it. It will offer extra capacity so we can actually attract more people to the system,” said Metro CEO John Nations. “So a lot of people who now do not have the ability to get on it will have the ability to get on it. It’s another opportunity for them to ride public transit." Metro purchased 15 used articulated busesMetro's Big Buses Roll Onto Busy Grand Route On Mondayhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/metros-big-buses-roll-busy-grand-route-monday
36781 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgFri, 06 Jun 2014 18:41:30 +0000Metro's Big Buses Roll Onto Busy Grand Route On MondayJason RosenbaumStarting this summer, it will cost more money to ride some of Metro’s public transportation services. Metro’s Board of Commissioners on Friday approved transit fare increases that will go into effect on July 1. It comes after the agency solicited public feedback on how to raise fares for bus and train services. Here’s what the fare increase will mean for riders: The cost of the one-ride MetroLink train fare will increase from $2.25 to $2.50Weekly passes will increase from $25 to $27Monthly passes from $72 to $78A university semester pass will go from $150 to $175The plan won’t increase the cost of a bus fare or a two-hour pass. The cost of the Day Pass will hold steady at $7.50, as will the $4.00 Metro Call-A-Ride fare. (Click here to read more information about the fare increase plan.) “The fare increase will generate approximately $2.25 million dollars in passenger revenue for Fiscal Year 2015, which is money essential to sustain current transit operations,” said John Nations, BiPublic Transit: MetroLink Rate Increases Go Into Effect July 1http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/public-transit-metrolink-rate-increases-go-effect-july-1
36415 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgFri, 23 May 2014 21:18:39 +0000Public Transit: MetroLink Rate Increases Go Into Effect July 1Jason Rosenbaum(Updated at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday) A pro-transit organization released a study today that could lead to a new MetroLink station in St. Louis’ central corridor. A study by Citizens for Modern Transit examined the costs and viability of building a MetroLink station between Sarah and Boyle in Midtown. The station would be located close to CORTEX, a fast-growing bioscience and technology hub. And it would also be close to where furniture retailer Ikea is expected to set up shop in 2015. Citizens for Modern Transit executive director Kim Cella said the study looked at the capital and operating costs for a station as well as projected ridership. It was the first time the group commissioned a feasibility study, which is required as a first step to start the process of building the station. Cella said Metro served as project manager on the study, making it a “true partnership” between her organization and the transit agency. “It was a big risk for the organization, but we felt it was importantStudy Examines Possibility Of A Midtown MetroLink Station http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/study-examines-possibility-midtown-metrolink-station
34761 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 27 Mar 2014 13:01:00 +0000Study Examines Possibility Of A Midtown MetroLink Station Jason RosenbaumThis article originally appeared in the St. Louis Beacon. - Today officials are set to break ground on the Central Riverfront phase of the CityArchRiver project, which brings $23 million worth of improvements to Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard and which should be done by October 2015. Among the most visible improvements: Elevating the road out of the Mississippi River floodplain. Organizers acknowledge that the entire $380 million Arch grounds project won’t be completed by the Arch’s 50th birthday. Several components – the visitors’ entrance to the museum, an overhaul of Kiener Plaza and some tree plantings – won’t be finished until 2016.As riverfront project begins, parts of Arch project pushed to 2016http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/riverfront-project-begins-parts-arch-project-pushed-2016-0
51426 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgFri, 15 Nov 2013 00:04:53 +0000As riverfront project begins, parts of Arch project pushed to 2016Hilary DavidsonThe article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: For 15 years, Dorothy Winfrey, 53, has taken the MetroLink, combined with buses and rides from family and friends from her home in south St. Louis to her job as a housekeeper at St. Mary’s Hospital on Clayton Road. She doesn’t have a car, she says, because “I can’t afford it.”MetroLink at 20: Service is valued; its ability to spur development is being testedhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/metrolink-20-service-valued-its-ability-spur-development-being-tested
52468 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgWed, 31 Jul 2013 22:59:37 +0000MetroLink at 20: Service is valued; its ability to spur development is being testedJoseph LeahyRehabilitation of the 138-year-old Eads Bridge is moving forward after two years of delays and ballooning project costs. The project was to begin in 2009 with $24 million in federal stimulus funding, but labor disputes between contractors and unions, and the projects pricetag, which inflated to $36 million, kept the bridgework from getting started. John Nations, Metros President and CEO says the bridges age also made the bidding process difficult. The Eads Bridge is an iconic structure and its unique, he said. Steel was an experimental metal when it was constructed and thats really at the heart of what were dealing with. Modernizing the Victorian Era bridge includes sandblasting about nine coats of paint off the bridges ribbed arch spans and coating them with protective sealant, replacing track supports, track and rail ties, and patching masonry. Nations says work on the bridge will begin in the next few weeks. More than 300 jobs are expected to be created during the project. Eads Bridge modernization project to begin soon http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/eads-bridge-modernization-project-begin-soon
3763 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgTue, 22 May 2012 20:51:44 +0000Eads Bridge modernization project to begin soon Kathie SutinWhen Chesterfield mayor John Nations took on the job earlier this of running the campaign for Proposition A to help an ailing Metro, he had no idea that a few months later he would become the agency's new CEO. "It was the furthest thing from my mind," he says. Leading the campaign was tough. Success seemed dubious. Prop A called for an increase in sales tax in St. Louis County during an economy that had many area residents reeling. Voters trounced a similar measure in November 2008. But the enthusiastic Nations drummed one message, as he says, "relentlessly" to St. Louis: A good public transit system is crucial to economic development, specifically in capturing new jobs for the region. Last week the Metro board of commissioners announced that Nations (left) would succeed Bob Baer who has lead Metro for the past two years -- first as an interim president and CEO and since last September as its permanent chief executive. Nations, an attorney at Armstrong Teasdale, will become Metro's CEOJohn Nations, new head of Metro, wants public transit to boost growthhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/john-nations-new-head-metro-wants-public-transit-boost-growth
44065 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 02 Sep 2010 04:00:00 +0000John Nations, new head of Metro, wants public transit to boost growth